Southwest Neighborhood Library

The Southwest Neighborhood Library is a branch of the District of Columbia Public Library in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is located at 900 Wesley Place SW.[1]

Southwest Neighborhood Library
The new library in 2021.
38.878692°N 77.015980°W / 38.878692; -77.015980
Location900 Wesley Place SW, Washington, DC 20024, United States
TypePublic library
Branch ofDistrict of Columbia Public Library
Other information
Websitehttps://www.dclibrary.org/southwest

History
Exterior of the old Southwest Neighborhood Library.
The exterior of the library in 2017.

The library first opened in 1941 inside Thomas Jefferson Memorial Junior High School, a Georgian Revival-style building designed by architect Nathan C. Wyeth.[2] A new library building opened in 1965[2] and closed in June 2019, with a new $18 million building to be constructed in its place.[3][4][5] During construction, interim library service was provided at 425 M Street SW.[3]

The interior of the newly renovated Southwest Neighborhood Library.
The interior of the new Southwest Neighborhood Library in 2021.

The new 20,000-square-foot building, which opened in May 2021, was designed by Perkins and Will and built by Turner Construction.[5] Built primarily out of mass timber and glass, it was produced in pieces in Vancouver and shipped to Washington, where it was assembled.[5]

Though it is one floor shorter than the old building, the new library was designed with a focus on community space.[4][5] It includes a large meeting room, three conference rooms, and four study rooms, as well as an outdoor porch. New technology incorporated in the rebuilt library includes an innovation lab with 3-D printers, as well as solar panels that provide for half of the building's energy needs.[4][5] The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation also collaborated with the library to improve the playground adjacent to the building.[5]

References
  1. "Southwest Library". District of Columbia Public Library. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  2. "Southwest Library History". District of Columbia Public Library. 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  3. "Southwest Library Construction Updates". District of Columbia Public Library. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  4. Gathright, Jenny (2019-05-17). "The Southwest Library Is Closing For More Than A Year To Undergo A Modernization". DCist. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  5. Williams, Elliot C.; Turner, Tyrone (2021-05-13). "Take A Peek Inside The Newly Renovated Southwest Library". DCist. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
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